Instructors
SCSM has three Instructor Levels in order to provide lessons at affordable prices while meeting the needs of each individual student.
LEVEL 1 INSTRUCTORS are select university music students, teaching under indirect supervision of Harding University music faculty. These young people bring a high level of energy and fun to your lessons and are qualified to teach all beginning students.
LEVEL 2 INSTRUCTORS are adults with several years of teaching and/or performing experience, qualified to teach beginning and intermediate-level students, including adult students. Their experience is beneficial to more dedicated students, adults, and those needing additional expertise. Click on an image below to read about our Level 2 instructors.
Kim Cleveland
Piano
Kim Cleveland
BioKim Cleveland has been playing piano since the age of 6. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Music with an emphasis in piano from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, where she studied piano under David Allen Wehr. Mrs. Cleveland has taught piano privately to students of all ages for over 10 years and lives in Searcy with her husband and two children. Her daughter, Allison, teaches cello for SCSM as well.
Samuel Durand
Piano
Samuel Durand
BioBorn and raised in Central Arkansas, pianist-composer Samuel Durand began studying music from a young age, taking piano lessons with Dr. Scott Carrell through SCSM during high school. He recently graduated from the Longy School of Music of Bard College, where he was a Presidential Scholar and studied with Grammy-nominated pianist Andrius Zlabys. Over the years, his experience has included serving as the principal pianist for the Arkansas Symphony Youth Orchestra, founding the (short-lived) Cabot Community Orchestra, playing numerous solo and chamber concerts, a lot of composing, and teaching music since he was fourteen. Always interested in new music, Samuel has worked with many contemporary composers to both premier and record their pieces and is frequently commissioned by musicians and chamber ensembles to write new works for them. Some of his compositions have gone on to gain national recognition in competitions hosted by the Music Teachers National Association and the American Prize. Above all else, Samuel values the beauty found in music, and wants to introduce young musicians to the joy of finding that in music.
Emily Eads
Voice and Piano
Emily Eads
BioEmily Eads teaches voice and piano for SCSM. She holds a B.M.E. in Vocal Music Education from Harding University and an M.M. in Vocal Performance from the University of Mississippi. During graduate school, Emily served as the OperaTheatre graduate assistant and worked with the Youth Musical Theatre workshop. Emily then taught Pre-K through 5th grade general music and choir in the Houston area for four years. During that time, she regularly sang with the Houston Symphony Chorus. Emily taught with SCSM during her undergraduate years, and has enjoyed returning to the Searcy community.
Daniel Ebner
Cello
Emily Eads
BioDaniel Ebner earned a Bachelor of Music (2022) and the Graduate Certificate from UCA (2023) where he studied cello with Dr. Stephen Feldman. Beginning in school orchestra at the age of 12 in Searcy, Arkansas, Daniel performed through high school with the Searcy High School orchestra while taking private lessons and performing with the Harding University-Community Orchestra. He also has participated in numerous masterclasses and lessons with teachers all across the country, notably with Dr. Stephen Feldman, Dr. Natasha Farny, Dr. Meghan Berindean, Dr. Khari Joyner, The Callisto Quartet, and The Ying Quartet. During his freshman year at UCA, Daniel was the cellist of the Qinqing Quartet: a competition quartet that passed state and regional rounds of the MTNA Chamber Music Competition and placed top 10 at the MTNA National Finals in Spokane, Washington, competing with graduate groups from Eastman, San Francisco, and New England conservatories. During his summers, Daniel has attended Summer Music Festivals such as The Sewanee Summer Music Festival, Hot Springs Music Festival, and the Oklahoma University Summer Strings Academy. He currently plays with the Conway Symphony Orchestra and has also “subbed” with other regional orchestras in the area.
Whitney Hammes
Cello
Whitney Hammes
BioWhitney Hammes began studying cello at the age of 10 and has played with the Harding/Community Orchestra since junior high! She completed a degree in music education at Harding University, where she studied with Kristin Smith and Rafael Leon of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. Her other music activities include serving as a counselor at Oberlin College's chamber music camp, Credo, and performing with the Pine Bluff Symphony Orchestra for a number of years.
Colleen O'Connell
Strings
Colleen O'Connell
BioColleen O'Connell has been teaching violin for over 20 years. She studied Developmental Violin pedagogy under Marie Griffiths and earned Suzuki Violin certification from the Suzuki Association of the Americas. She has a B.A. in Music and teaches private lessons, group lessons, and coaches small ensembles. Colleen has performed with the Rome Symphony Orchestra, Pine Bluff Symphony Orchestra, HU Community Orchestra, Searcy String Quartet, and local jam bands and various small ensembles.
Andrew Robison
Piano
Andrew Robison
BioAndrew Robison has been studying and playing music for over 20 years, beginning piano at the age of 5. Since elementary school, he has sung in numerous choirs and began playing percussion in band, continuing through college. By middle school, he had begun composing hymns and intermediate-to-advanced piano pieces. While at Harding, he was a member of the University Chorus, Chamber Singers, Marching Band, and Jazz Band. Andrew earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music degree in Music with an emphasis in piano and composition from Harding in 2018 in addition to a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science. He has been teaching piano with the Searcy Community School of Music since 2015.
LEVEL 3 INSTRUCTORS are adults with advanced degrees in music and extensive teaching experience, many of whom are Harding Department of Music faculty, qualified to teach beginner, intermediate, and advanced-level students, including adult students. Their advanced training and experience make them invaluable to more serious students, adults, and those needing additional expertise. Click on an image below to read about our Level 3 instructors.
Dr. Cynthia Carrell
Trumpet, Horn, Piano
Dr. Cynthia Carrell
BioDr. Cynthia Thompson Carrell teaches trumpet, horn, and piano for SCSM and taught trumpet, horn, and music theory at Harding University for 25 years. She served as Principal Trumpet in the Pine Bluff Symphony from 1999 to 2016, having been a band-director and free-lance trumpet performer and teacher in the Dallas area for several years prior. Her teaching career also includes having published a Music Appreciation textbook (in its 4th edition), and she is currently creating a textbook in Music Theory fundamentals as well. Carrell earned a Bachelor of Music Education at the University of North Texas (1986), and both a Masters in Music Education and Doctorate of Musical Arts in Trumpet Performance from the University of Illinois (1997). She has served as the Affiliate Chapters Coordinator for the International Trumpet Guild since 2009 and became the Director of SCSM in 2019.
Dr. Scott Carrell
Piano
Dr. Scott Carrell
BioPianist Scott Carrell has presented numerous performances as a soloist, chamber musician and concerto soloist in France, Germany, Italy, China, and the United States. Earning degrees from Southwestern University, the University of Illinois, and the University of North Texas, he is the recipient of several awards and prizes, including the Dutilleux prize at the 1996 French Piano Institute Festival in Paris, France. His four compact discs of classical masterpieces, ragtime favorites, and works of Noël Gallon have been well received. As a composer, he has premiered works for solo piano and various chamber ensembles. Carrell is a professor at Harding University, where he teaches music theory, piano, and related courses.
Dr. Andrew Cook
Saxophone and clarinet
Dr. Andrew Cook
BioDr. Andrew Cook teaches saxophone and clarinet for SCSM as well as serving in Harding's Department of Music as Woodwind Instructor, Director of Jazz Bands, and as an instructor of Music History, World Music, and Music Education classes. He has a Bachelor of Music - Music History degree from College of Wooster, a Master of Music in Saxophone Performance degree from The Boston Conservatory, and a Doctor of Music Arts in Music Education from Boston University.
Laura Eads
Voice
Laura Eads
BioLaura Eads, mezzo soprano, has taught voice lessons and voice-related courses at Harding University for over thirty years. She currently also serves as the Coordinator of Vocal Studies. An active member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing since 1989, she is the District Governor of Arkansas for the organization. She has performed with Opera Memphis, at Southern Region NATS conferences, and as a guest artist for a Santa Fe music conference. Most recently, she enjoyed performing the role of Agatha Trunchbull in Harding's production of the musical, “Matilda!”
Jenny Henderson
Piano
Gabriel Watkins
BioJenny Henderson is experienced in teaching piano for individuals and groups, teaching early childhood music, and she has directed student choirs and orchestras in the past. She is certified in K-12 General and Vocal Music, Orff-Shulwerk, Kodaly, Music Learning Theory, Kindermusik, and Musikgarten. A native of Searcy, Ms. Henderson has a long history of teaching music in the community. She most recently served as the elementary music teacher at Sidney Deener Elementary, and at one time was the music director at First Presbyterian Church. Mrs. Henderson holds two degrees in education and has pursued doctoral studies in music education. Henderson is a member of the Arkansas State Music Teachers Association and the Gordon Institute for Music Learning (GIML.org).
Dr. Alyssa Koay
Piano
Dr. Alyssa Koay
BioSCSM piano instructor, Dr. Alyssa Koay teaches Piano, Elementary Education, and World Music courses in addition to accompanying vocal students at Harding University. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harding University, and Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in Piano Performance from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Rochelle Waddill
Voice
Rochelle Waddill
BioRochelle Waddill, soprano, has taught private voice for 25 years and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Harding University, a Masters of Music in Applied Voice from the University of Houston, and an MBA from Harding University. During her time as a student at Harding, Rochelle was a two-time Spring Sing hostess and performed in Homecoming musicals in addition to performing with Concert Choir, and Good News Singers. After moving to Houston, she performed with the Houston Grand Opera for a total of 13 seasons while also teaching private voice lessons and elementary, middle school, and college music. After relocating to Searcy in 2016, she has continued to teach online college music courses, and in 2019, she began working for Harding University as the Director of the Office of Graduate Studies for the College of Business. She is excited to continue to use her musical talents and passion to help singers develop their gifts through the Searcy Community School of Music.
Alicia Walls
Strings, Flute, Piano
Alicia Walls
BioAlicia Walls has taught with SCSM since 2014. She also teaches Applied Viola, String Pedagogy, Class Strings, and String Quartet at Harding University as well as teaching string classes (1st-12th grades) in Bald Knob. Before coming to Searcy she taught public school orchestra for ten years in Texas, where her orchestras were regular sweepstakes winners. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Music with Teacher Certification, double majoring in viola and flute, at Abilene Christian University and her Master’s Degree in Music Education at the University of North Texas.
